By James Hale | Published February 2022
Some COVID-lockdown projects are gloomy; some are escapist; others carry artists in new directions. The pandemic brought drummer Allison Miller and soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom together — in separate studios — for five Tuesdays during March and April 2021, and the results express joy and boundless energy.
By now, we’ve become accustomed to hearing musicians overcome distance and technology, but Miller and Bloom manage to convey more of the human spirit than most remote collaborations. At the heart of their connection is the fact that these are two minimalists with deep listening skills; there are no by-rote responses or predictable ploys in these joint improvisations.
On “Technicolor” Miller builds dramatic intensity from her opening solo, and as the interaction between her and Bloom moves into freer musical territory the drummer begins to generate a tom-tom rumble worthy of the great Ed Blackwell. More frequently, Miller eschews her full drum kit for the tuned hand drumming of “Rowing In The Dark,” which evolves into a spacey blues, or the metallic clatter of “Five Bells,” a gamelan-influenced accompaniment to Bloom’s dark-hued soprano. But nothing from either musician stays in one place for long. On “The Wild Frontier” Bloom introduces a bleating smear of sound and Miller responds with frantic, scurrying percussion that evolves into wooden-toned accents and bells as Bloom paints in flowing phrases.
Loose, limber and personal sounding throughout, this set of spontaneous composition is one for the time capsule of the Plague Years, the ideal reminder that the human imagination could still soar during lockdown.
Tues Days: Tues Days; Technicolor; Rowing In The Dark; This Is It; Five Bells; The Wild Frontier; Light Years Away; A&J’s Test Kitchen; Crayola; On Seeing JP; Walk Alone. (56:49)
Personnel: Jane Ira Bloom, soprano saxophone; Allison Miller, drums, percussion.
Ordering Info: allisonmiller.bandcamp.com
